


We Must Not Look- But Dare We Listen

by Anonymous



Category: Black Sails
Genre: Background Anne Bonny/"Calico" Jack Rackham - Freeform, But Also!, F/F, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Implied/Referenced Murder, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Kissing, Siren Max, ambiguous ending, siren au, there was supposed to be smut but that didn't happen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-21
Updated: 2017-10-21
Packaged: 2019-01-21 01:49:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,364
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12446952
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: Anne is drawn to cove at night, to the singing she knows she should never have heard. But when she hears a siren has been captured, what will she end up doing?





	We Must Not Look- But Dare We Listen

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Vegan_Venom](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vegan_Venom/gifts).



> ...I really hope you like it!

Everyone knew you stayed away from the rocks by the cove after dark. Anne was no fool. She knew this. She’d sneered at anyone who tried to warn her as if she was some new recruit who didn’t know which end of the gun bullets came out of. But sometimes… Sometimes she just wanted to hear the singing. 

And that’s how it all started. 

Anne was as close to the shore as she dared be, listening intently to the harmonies coming from the jagged rocks in the black expanse of the sea. 

One voice rose above the others, slightly raspy and with a lilt that spoke of faraway places and forgotten splendour. Anne leaned against the rock and closed her eyes, pulling her hat down to cover them as she rested her elbows on her knees. She had been coming here at night for weeks now. Jack had long since stopped asking her where she went, though he clung tighter to her at night when she was with him. But ever since she had heard the voice that had enthralled her so utterly she couldn’t stay away for long, even as she cursed herself to falling prey to something so foolish. 

Lulled by the beauty of the uncanny melodies, she barely noticed her eyes drifting shut as she fell asleep. 

“You have been spying on us.”

Anne woke with a start, her heart pounding as she reached for her knives- but she could see nothing. 

Then there came a splash from beside her- the tide! The water had risen so far she was only feet from it. 

She knew what was in that water at night. 

She knew no sword would protect her now. 

“You have been coming here, thinking you were safe behind your rock.”

Where was the voice coming from? 

“But we always know when our songs have ensnared someone new.”

By now, she was on her feet, holding her swords out as she tried to find the source of the voice. (The heavenly, beautiful voice that made her want to forswear ever wielding weapons again and let the ocean embrace her as arms held her close…)

“I’m not ensnared by anyone!” 

“But oh, ma chérie, you know you that’s not true.”

And with that, Anne saw a figure rise from the water, her torso like the bust of some ancient goddess men spilt blood to appease. Without her consciously deciding to she found herself lowering her swords.

Anne couldn’t tear her eyes away. At that moment she would have slit anyone’s throat if only the vision before her wanted it so. 

“So easy…” The figure came ever closer.

“No! I won’t be fucking controlled! Not by you, not by anyone!” 

With those words, she turned and ran, even though she wanted nothing more than to stay and fight. But she knew this was a fight she would never win. 

As she fled, she heard laughter from behind her. 

 

After that night, Anne stayed away from the cove. Jack didn’t bring it up, but the sweet kisses he pressed to her forehead no longer felt like pleas to stay. She was glad. She had never wanted to make him jealous- what was the point in that?- but she could just never quite find the words to tell him about the fascination that had drawn her, night after night, to that unearthly singing. So they stayed the way they were, determined to stay together whatever the world threw at them. 

Until the day Anne heard about the captured siren being held captive by the crew.

 

After days of hearing the crude jokes by the men about the creature they had captured and were now pretending to have made their own Anne couldn’t bear not knowing whether it was the one who had captured her so fully. So she made her way to the tent a man was stumbling out of half-drunk, still adjusting his pants.

She wasn’t sure what she expected to see- but some part of her wanted nothing more than a glimpse of that unearthly beauty that still haunted her dreams.

The figure which had seemed so regal and mysterious only a few days before was now huddled on the ground. She had her knees drawn to her chest, 

“Have you come here to gloat? I wouldn’t have expected that from you.”

The voice seemed strangely dissonant, though the accent was still there- it was as if something was missing. 

“You gonna try to force me do what you want again?”

“Do you see an ocean here? My power, my dear, does not come from the air.”

“You could be lying.”

“I could. But then, wouldn’t I make you break me out?”

Anne cast a glance at the rings of bruises around the creature’s feet.

“You could try. But I won’t.”

And with that, she turned to go. 

“My name is Max, in case you were wondering. If you want a name when you dream of me.”

Anne only stiffened for a second, but it seemed like it was noticeable enough for Max. And once again, Anne fled with laughter ringing in her ears, though this time it seemed to verge on despair. 

 

Anne tried to forget what she’s seen in that tent. She wanted to never think about it again, never have to consider how much the terror that had flashed in Max’s eyes had reminded her of her own torment. But it had made her blood boil. 

She had to end this. 

And she had to ask Jack to help her do it.

 

“You know when I was gone at night?” 

“Yes, I do recall the weeks my lover seemed to have deserted me, thank you very much,” Jack said, his face not betraying any surprise at this seeming nonsensical question. 

“I was listening to the sirens.” 

“Excuse me, you were what?” With that question, Jack turned to look at her, face almost comically shocked.

“The sirens. I liked to hear them sing. So I went to go listen. Now the men have one, and they’re hurting her. I want to stop it.” There was no reason to make this any more complicated than it already would be, so she figured this summary would have to do.

“And how do you plan to go about that?”

“Kill the men doing it. Enough of them to stop it. Bring the siren to the sea. Don’t get caught by any idiots trying to fuck her.” 

“Yes, well, while that is an excellent outline, I believe some of the specifics may be missing from this grand plan of yours.” 

“That’s why I asked you, isn’t it?”

 

“You have freed me, I believe I ought to thank you.” She had. It hadn’t even been as difficult as she’d expected, since none of the men had suspected anything when Jack lured them away from the crowded city to be mercilessly butchered. But now it was done. And who knew what Max- a fucking siren!- could do now.

“Stay the fuck out of my mind!”

“It was not your mind I was interested in,” Max said, her eyes narrowing as she leaned forward. But before she could get any further, Anne whirled them both around and pressed a sword to Max’s throat, her hand cradling the back of Max’s head. 

“What the fuck do think you’re doing!”

There was no answer. But during the silence between them, Anne felt the heat of Max’s body, the beating of her heart, so close to her own. And in that moment, Anne wanted. She wasn’t even sure what she wanted yet, but as Max moved her face- and her lips- ever closer, it became clearer and clearer. She wanted Max. 

When their lips finally met, it was all Anne could do to stay upright as the kiss they shared burnt her to her very core. As she moaned into it, Max’s hands wandered and Anne’s world seemed to dissolve into bliss. As her eyes fluttered closed, she noticed how the water was lapping at her feet. But before she could think about what that might mean, Max sucked at her neck and nothing else seemed to matter anymore.


End file.
